Birth, and ReBirth I03: Leftovers
Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Company. Original lyrics to the songs referenced in this story and the music are the property of the respective authors, artists and labels. All other characters can be blamed on the author (he, however, is not responsible for all of their actions at all times, being barely responsible for himself most of the time).
This is a strictly not-for-profit, just-for-fun work.
For something completely different: What? by ja of jakt. It's a jump to the left...
This story is for the Monique lovers out there (and, for one in particular, KRPS), and it is dedicated to those who fight for freedom, anytime and anywhere, for those who cannot fight.
And, for those who paid the ultimate price:
Thank you.
Enjoy! Please read and review.
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A/N Forward:
A special day, after the Lowardian invasion was defeated….
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Birth, and ReBirth I03: Leftovers
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"GF, it was sooo good to see you, even if it was only for a few minutes as you came in and I was leaving."
"I know, Mon: I miss seeing you every day," Kim replied.
"I miss you, too," Monique laughed. "Who'd have thought that the world-saver would be in Middleton, and I'd end up in Massachusetts?"
"Not me," the male voice laughed over the speaker. "I was certain that we'd be on two different continents," Ron added.
"RON!" Monique laughed at Kim's reaction. "You know I needed some time to settle after what happened, and your acceptance to MIST made my decision easier."
"Kim, if you're finished trading time," the voice of Dr. Elizabeth Director-Possible came over the speaker, "We're almost ready to head for 'Ground Zero' and the ceremonies."
"I'm ready, Dr. Director; Mon, don't be a stranger, all right?" Kim's voice had a bit of a catch in it.
"I won't, Kim; besides, where else am I going to get my MDAs of brain loaf and Ron-shine?" Monique grinned evilly.
"It's a 'go' on the brain loaf, but it's a 'no-go' on the RonShine," Kim laughed. "Besides, I think Felix might be a bit peeved about the RonShine. We'll talk later, GF."
"Bye, Kim," and Monique clicked the off button on the speakerphone in the Global Justice executive jet that had been sent to pick her up and return her to Middleton for the ceremonies.
"Are you ready, Mon?" Sarah looked over at her, her workspace covered in papers for her own speech.
"No, but that won't matter, will it?" Monique laughed. "By the way, Sarah, I meant to ask you earlier: how's Olivia doing?"
"That's why I flew out, Monique: something happened, and I wanted to talk to you about it," Sarah replied, and she began to tell Monique about the conversation she had he previous day with Olivia Roberts,
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"Monique, listen to your heart," her father told her as they drove from the hangar at Middleton International Airport in a limousine to the high school stadium that Monique had last seen, in less than pristine condition, at her graduation. As they drove in front of the high school, she saw that the land next to the stadium had been converted into a park with a small lake. Monique saw row after row of portable buildings where much of the school had been, and the foundations for the new buildings had been poured.
She was still surprised at the cheers when the door opened and she stepped out, but the security for her, her father, and Sarah surprised her even more. She barely had a chance to hug her mother, grandparents, and her brother's wife and kids before they were escorted in the direction of the newly-constructed stage. She saw, waved at, pushed aside the security, and hugged a beaming Olivia Roberts before she and Sarah were led onto the stage to be introduced to the visiting dignitaries.
'At lease, I'm not at 'Ground Zero' with Kim and Ron,' she grinned inside, remembering the look on Kim's face over the Internet 'cam when Kim was talking to her, and Betty sent her the listt of attendees: the presidents of the US, France, the Queen, the Prime Ministers of Canada and so many other countries that Monique couldn't remember them all: more than 90 countries were representing their fallen citizens from 9/11 and the thwarted invasion . Unfortunately for Monique, however, the number didn't drop significantly at the Middleton site: ambassadors from over 50 countries and ministers-without-portfolios representing several smaller countries that lost citizens at 9/11 and were devastated by the Lowardian attack.
The presentation from Ground Zero was broadcast worldwide, and the local monitors showed the entire presentation prior to the start of the local event. Monique loved both Ron's and Kim's speeches that closed the presentation, and she cried when Kim finished; luckily for her, she was not alone, for most of the dignitaries on the dais and in the front rows did the same, especially when the lone uniformed piper began "Amazing Grace" to close the ceremony, joined at the end of the first verse by a choir of pipers.
Monique was the final speaker, based on the luck of the draw, protocol, and the willingness of the speakers to allow her, a combatant, the final word. That didn't help her as she sat, wrote, scratched tout, and rewrote more and more comments, notes, and phrases on her prepared speech as she listened to all of the others, but she still wasn't happy with what she had in front of her face.
Mr. Barkin finished her introduction: "...one of our MHS graduates, and a fine young woman in her own right, Miss Monique Jenkins," and she was standing and walking toward the speaker's platform to standing and thunderous applause.
She stepped up onto the dais and looked out over the audience, both human and electronic. She smiled when she saw Olivia waving at her, but it bothered Monique that Olivia's smile still looked hurt.
As the applause died down and the crows began to take their seats, Monique felt a calm descend onto her like nothing she had ever experienced in her life. She looked out and caught her Dad's eye and looked a bit frightened (a father can tell, you know, when his daughter is scared), and he smiled and nodded to her.
She looked down at her speech.
She knew her next steps.
The crowd was silent, all looking at her. Monique held up her speech, took it in both hands, and deftly ripped it down the middle.
"That's what I thought I was going to say here today, but I heard something quite disturbing as I flew back to Middleton that mad me realize that I had to speak out abut it," and Monique began to speak.
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The car was silent as they drove away, the stark contrast to the crowds as Monique left the stage.
"Monique," she looked up and saw tears in her father's eyes.
"Monique, He must have been speaking through you this day," her father stated, and a chorus of 'Amen's came from her grandparents and grandmother.
"Monique, that speech blew me and everyone else away," she turned and saw Sarah wiping tears from her face.
"You do realize, don't you, that she's now joined at the hip with you," Sarah grinned, and Monique laughed.
'There are worse things that could happen,' Monique thought, and her cell rang.
Since it was turned off, it could only be one person.
"What is it, baby boy?" Monique flipped the phone open.
"Monique, I don't care: I want to carry your children," the voice of Dr. Wade Load rang through the car, and laughs joined it quickly.
"Sorry, Wade, but you'll have to be 'content' with Joss," Monique snarked.
"I know, but I just had to tell you that you made me cry, Mon," Wade grinned through the phone. "By the way, I'm capturing your voicemails. It seems that your cell, home, and dorm numbers all got out, and all have been swamped with calls since 3 minutes into your speech. I'm storing them all, and Wade-A is sorting them based on importance; he'll screen out the threats and place them on a separate file for GJ and the authorities.
"Wade, Kim was right: you do rock," Monique smiled and flipped her phone shut.
"Monique, I do believe that that young man likes you," her grandfather smiled, and Monique laughed.
"Granddaddy, he has, ever since we moved here and he first laid eyes on me. He's four years younger than me, and he has two PhDs and a girlfriend; they're planning to get married in six years and 10 months, give or take a month," she explained, and both of her grandparents laughed.
She sat back and closed her eyes, still wondering:
'Just what did I say, up there, in front of all of those people? I can't remember a word of it...'
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"Thank you," Monique said as the applause died down and the audience took their seats.
"Thank you for such a warm welcome back home, but I have one question to ask all of you before I get started:
"Have you had nightmares? Lift your hands high if you have," and Monique's hand was the first in the air, joined in a short time by what seemed to be everyone in the audience.
"I grew up reading science-fiction and loving it, and moving to Middleton helped me gain a fresh, new perspective on 'something different, something new,'" she grinned, and several members of the press chuckled at the reference, "but the Diablos were, I thought, the most dangerous thing that we'd face.
"I talked to Kim before I went East this fall, and she told me that she had made a comment to Wade (Dr. Wade Load, her technical guru and friend) in February of this year, jokingly, that alien invasion was the only thing that they had left to face.
"I asked her to quit joking," Monique laughed, and the audience laughed with her.
"Never, not even my nightmares, had I imagined that we would face creatures that weren't 'from the Black Lagoon': Kim had already faced Gil down twice at WannaWeep.
"If you had nightmares, I can sympathize with you," Monique continued. "I had them, at least two or three a night, for six-seven weeks after the last pod was destroyed in combat.
"I had never seen people killed, face-down and face-up on their front porches, until this happened," and Monique could still see the images of Olivia's parents in her mind. She wished that she could scrub those same images from Olivia's mind and place them in hers, but she knew that it was not to be. She looked out at Olivia and smiled, and Olivia mouthed back, 'I love you, extra Big Sis.'
"I was scared to sleep, to even close my eyes. I certainly couldn't talk to anyone about it: everybody else went through the same things I did, so who was I to burden them with my troubles?
"So, like my Daddy taught me, I left my problems with Him, and He sent another 'Possible' to solve them," Monique laughed. "This one, however, was a wee bit older.
"Esther Andrea Possible, Kim's grandmother and my comrade-in-arms, called me two nights later and asked me what was wrong. I tried to deny that there was a problem, but she said the magic words:
"'Snake muffins', Monique: tell me what's bothering you," she commanded, and the audience chuckled at the statement.
"How she knew I was having nightmares, I didn't know, but she told me she knew from experience: she'd seen enough combat, and she said that those people who were new to the most graphic, violent, and frightening events were almost 100 per cent guaranteed to have nightmares, the severity f them directly proportional to the threat level.
"After she explained all of this, she told me that the nightmare was over, and she said two simple words that let me have the best night's sleep I'd had in months:
"'We won,'" Monique smiled and the roar from the audience was deafening as they, en masse, stood, cheered, and applauded.
"We won," Monique repeated after they sat, "but we started doing it to ourselves, once again.
"On my way home," Monique began, and her face drew into a sad and serious face at the same time, "Sarah told me about the latest phrase being tossed around, one that was hurting a very dear friend of mine, almost as much as the Lowardians had hurt her. You see, she was an only child, and she lost her parents in the attack. What she didn't know until last month was that her mother was pregnant with a son, so she lost a baby brother at the same time.
"People her age who hadn't lost anyone have taken to calling those who have lost someone 'leftovers,' like they were the remnants of a meal that was to be tossed out.
Monique looked out over the crowd, and the silence was deafening.
"Leftovers," she repeated, dripping with sarcasm, as if the very word itself was a weapon.
"My family, an extended family, has lived the last few months on much less than we have in the past, as have so many others. We've survived on the kindness of so many, around the world and here at home, and we have shared what we have to ensure that no one would go hungry, especially with all of the work we've had to do in the start of rebuilding. So, when we finished a meal, two weeks ago, and there was still food on the table, we gave Thanks for it. Grandmamma wrapped it up in her patented foil pouch and placed it in the refrigerator so we would have food in it that wasn't for the next day, and she smiled as she closed the door and said, 'Praise Him for leftovers!'
"I don't know about you, but I loved my momma's stew the second and third day, because it seemed to taste better, the longer it sat in the refrigerator.
"Leftovers."
"Pinto beans, cooked with thick slices of maple-cured bacon, and fresh green beans, cooked with some fat back and bacon grease," Monique grinned, and several audience members laughed as there were shouts of 'AMEN!' and 'Preach it, Sister!' scattered in the crowd. "Now, there's all good, but they're even better eatin' the next day after sitting in the refrigerator.
"And, don't get me started on a meat loaf sandwich, and I don't mean the singer, either," Monique grinned, and several members of the press, with her comment, had a mental image of Monique cast in the movie 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'; they, to a person, shook their heads and thought that she couldn't be referencing that. "Day-old meat loaf, on ciabatta bread, with fresh-made tomato-basil sauce: heaven on a roll," she smiled, and several members made notes to try it as soon as they could.
"Leftovers," Monique smiled, but then her face turned extremely serious.
"I lost my older brother, my sister-in-law lost her husband, and her children lost their father, in the attack on the US Naval vessel off the coast of Iran in 2000," she looked down on her sister-in-law, who was smiling though her tears. The boys were trying to be stoic, but they weren't succeeding very well.
"Leftovers? I think not," Monique spat out, and the crowd roared its approval.
"The children whose parents died in the Twin Towers:
"Leftovers? I think not," Monique spat out once again, and the crowd roared its approval, once again.
"The children of the passengers who guided the plane into the ground rather than allow it to fly into the White House:
"Leftovers? I think not," Monique spat out once again, and the crowd leapt to its feet and roared its approval a third time.
"Those family members of the terrorists who committed the acts, whose only 'crime'," Monique used air quotes, "was to be related to someone who committed an act never before imagined in history.
"Leftovers? I think not," Monique spat out once again, and the crowd leapt to its feet and roared its approval, once again. Monique looked over at the Ambassadors from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the UAE, and they were all standing and acknowledging her recognition of the act, not the people, as criminal.
"We are here, today, to dedicate this park, this lake, Rememberence Park and Memory Lake, to all those from 9/11 and the Lowardian invasion that have gone before us. I know that they would not consider us as leftovers, for they paid a price far too high to calculate, even for actuaries or math villains," Monique smiled, and she looked out over the small lake, covered with paper boats, all hand-crafted, and each with the name of a loved on it.
She caught the eye of an older gentleman, and he mouthed 'no, no, no,' but she smiled.
"Daddy taught me far too well, it seems," she smiled, and her father smiled back at her. "He taught me to speak my mind. By the way, Daddy, we need to have that talk about your conversation with Felix a few weeks ago before I left for college," she fingered her engagement ring, and Felix, sitting with Olivia and the Best family, smiled up at his fiancée while the audience chuckled.
"So, my wonderful, beautiful, precious young friend," Monique spoke directly to a beaming and tear-stained Olivia Roberts, "the next time that they tell you that you're a leftover, remind them that the United States is filled with leftovers, was founded by leftovers, and that the world, itself, is one giant leftover, courtesy of the Lowardians.
"We are all leftovers, and we should be proud, because leftovers come from the best," Monique grinned at Sarah as the audience, once again, jumped to their feet and cheered.
"That was Monique Jenkins," the broadcaster spoke as the cheering continued while Monique was hugged by the people on the stage. "The little girl coming up on the right? We believe that is the young woman that Monique was talking about," and Olivia slammed into Monique's legs and hugged her for all she was worth.
"She said it all," the partner said, and the broadcaster nodded.
"This has been a NCN special report: the Middleton 9/11 Lowardian remembrance ceremonies. I'm your host, Henry Chichester,"
"And, I'm Heather Jamison Ashley," the announcer added.
"This is NCN," and the television clicked off.
The room was silent.
Monique was afraid to look up.
A single word came from her grandmother:
"Amen," she proclaimed, and she stood, walked over to her granddaughter, and held out her arms for a hug, one that Monique accepted unashamedly as her own tears joined her grandmother's.
"You done us all proud, Monnie," she whispered, and Monique grinned.
Her cell rang, again, from its off position.
"What's the sitch, Wade?" she answered in her best Kim slightly-annoyed voice.
It wasn't lost on Wade.
"You have definitely spent too much time with Kim," he laughed.
"Sorry to bother you, Monique, but I thought you'd want this call.
"From who?"
"Coco Banana," Wade replied, and Monique almost broke her phone into multiple pieces.
"You got that right, baby boy," she grinned, and she could hear Joss Possible laughing in the background.
"Miss Jenkins?" the unmistakable voice asked.
"Yes, Mr. Banana, Sir?"
"Coco says: Oh no, you didn't!
"Oh, no, you didn't just give the speech for the ages.
"Coco was crying.
"Coco says: Tears," and Monique laughed as she heard the large bodyguard crying in the background.
"Coco wanted to do something besides cry, and Coco has an idea:
"Coco wants to launch a new winter line of coats and jackets: the 'Leftover' line, and all proceeds will go to the families of those who have been hit the hardest: the children who have lost parents.
"Coco wants to announce, but Coco has a request: actually, two requests."
"Yes, Mr. Banana?"
"Make it three requests, Miss Jenkins:
"One: Coco wants to meet the young woman who started all this. Coco believes that Coco is in love with her, and he wants to spoil her by taking her on a shopping spree for her, her friends, and her enemies."
"Praise God," came in a whisper from Monique's grandfather.
"Two: Coco wants you, Monique Jenkins, to design the 'Leftover' line," and Monique dropped her phone.
"Hello?
"Hello?
"Coco is laughing at your response, Monique," the voice came from the floor, and Monique, stunned, picked up her cell.
"Sir," Monique started, but Coco cut her off.
"Three: Coco says, you call me Coco, please," Monique could feel his smile across the airwaves, and she smiled.
"Yes, Coco," and her grandparents and parents both gasped.
"Good! We can talk when you come back East: Coco says he will come to your college so we can talk, and bring that wonderful young man who has captured your heart, as well."
"How did you know?" Monique hissed, and Coco laughed.
"Coco no dummy, Miss Jenkins: Coco says, 'ciao,'" and the line went dead.
Monique looked up just in time to brace herself for the familial mass hug.
When her family let go of her, and her own tears had subsided, she looked at her father.
"Daddy, just what did you tell Felix?"
He smiled back at her. "Just the truth, 'Monnie.'"
"DADDY!!"
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Thank you, to all of you, stopping by.
Special thanks, especially, to all the writers here on this site: you all rock.
Any errors in this copy are mine.
Thanks again for reading, and please review.
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